Hi I am very new to Linux and hope that someone can help. I use a Zoom PCI ADSL modem and would like to know which, if any, distro will be able to connect me to the internet with it. I read that this may not be a good idea but I live in hope. Thanks

Some Zoom modems use the same chipset as the Sagem/Eagle modems, which are supported.

If it works with Linux, it will work with any distro, although some may make it easier to set up than others. As long as you distro has the relevant drivers in its package repository, which we won't know until we know which modem it is, you should be OK.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." (Albert Einstein)

I have just found a guide for installing this modem writen by Patrick Mackinlay at
http://patrick.spacesurfer.com/linux_co ... _adsl.htmlAs I am very new to Linux it looks very complex and easy to get wrong. Which distro would be the best to try this with? Would it simply be easier to get an external modem router and a ethernet card? But then I won't learn as much!

You'd probably learn more, because you'd be learning to use your computer insread of trying to work out how to install the modem driver

However, as it is possible to use this modem with Linux, it's just a matter of finding a distro that supports it directly, so you don't have to go through the rigmarole of recompiling your kernel and building the driver from source. I suggest you try a couple of live CD distros to see which recognise your modem. Ubuntu, Mandriva and SUSE all provide live CD versions of their distros, try them to see which works for you before installing anything.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." (Albert Einstein)

Hi, sorry to Hijack your thread, but I have a similar problem. I have dual-booted Mandriva Linux 2006 LE with Windows XP. The only problem I am having with Linux is connecting to the internet.

My modem is a Conexant AccessRunner PCI ADSL Modem. Linux does detect it and I used the command lspci the ATM controller and card are both listed.

When I use Mandrakelinux control to set up a new network and chose ADSL, PPPoA no net device is shown. I'm guessing this is where the problem lies. I find http://patrick.spacesurfer.com/linux_co ... _adsl.html a bit confusing and it seems to read to me that I don't need to do steps 2,3,5 as the version of Linux I use is a current one.

Nevermind, I guess it is back to Windows for me. So far I have spent the last two days tinkering with it. I know that people have teething problems with Linux, but I had NO problems with Windows installation. Who cares if problems develop over time, the installation of Windows now is almost fully automatic: reinstalling it is nowhere near the headache it used to be and reactivation is nothing. The modem is the most important part for the Linux community because it is all about connecting, but heck if support for modems is crap then you are going to alienate anyone who wants to migrate. I've bought two magazines and a USB modem (which Im taking back as it clearly ISNT compatible with Linux, it gets detected as a scanner!!). this means that Linux is costing me money not saving it.

The reason I bought the magazines is because they had distros on them since my DVD-R of another Linux distro failed to install despite passing hash file checksum and an integrety test. So a scrapped DVD-R has cost me even more! The installation of Ubuntu version of Linux failed halfway through leaving me with a corrupt Master Boot record. Quite frankly I don't care what the Linux community thinks about me using M$ (anyone who uses that phrase really discredit themselves on this forum). I wanted to make Linux work after trying it before (it worked perfectly when I was on dial-up, but I switched to XP as it is much better than Windows 98). Now I am on ADSL and both ADSL modems do not work with Linux. How is the average user supposed to download a patch or further instructions when they can't get the modem to work!! I'm going to stick with Windows, because at least I KNOW it isn't secure or very stable and so I take precautions. With Linux I may fall into the trap that I think it is 100% secure and stable and so get lacks about security, backups, spam, spyware, hackwares etc. With windows I know it isn't and so am proactive. Is the average user supposed to rebuild the linux kernel just to get one component to work?!

That's 2 days and £18.48 I'll never see again. Linux - great for servers, rubbish for desktop.

I know that people have teething problems with Linux, but I had NO problems with Windows installation.

And the first time you ever used windows? Linux isn't a windows replacement its an alternative. Can I recommend Dual Booting rather than scrapping Linux? ease yourself in, rather than jumping straight in.

but heck if support for modems is crap then you are going to alienate anyone who wants to migrate.

The problem here does not lie with Linux as such, the issue originates at the Hardware vendors, many of whom will not even release the specs needed for the community to build drivers, many of the drivers are available due to reverse engineering. This situation has and is improving greatly, support is getting better all the time.

which Im taking back as it clearly ISNT compatible with Linux, it gets detected as a scanner!!

Thats bizzare, although I did have a webcam that did that, turned out to be fairly trivial to sort, although I can understand when you are starting out on Linux it seems a lot more complicated than it is.

Quite frankly I don't care what the Linux community thinks about me using M$ (anyone who uses that phrase really discredit themselves on this forum).

No-one is going to care either way what you use, it is your choice and Open Source is about Choice, you use what best suits you. Incidentally if you are interested M$ originated way back when people were very worried that MS might be monitoring the web. No-one wants a lawsuit or anthing similar nowadays it is more a reference to what some could see as very agressive tactics to procure more $

Now I am on ADSL and both ADSL modems do not work with Linux.

If you want to blame anyone for this then blame the hardware vendors, I remember when Modems came with Firmware loaded on them and did all the processing they needed for themselves, since then has been the advent of so-called Winmodems, your computer does the processing (or a large part of) for them.

With Linux I may fall into the trap that I think it is 100% secure and stable and so get lacks about security, backups, spam, spyware, hackwares etc.

No computer system is 100% secure, using Linux does not mean you can stop checking things, and although it is more secure than Windows, you do still need to secure things from the default, the same way you would with windows.

Is the average user supposed to rebuild the linux kernel just to get one component to work?!

Seems unfortunate that you came across this issue so early on, it is generally not necessary to rebuild the kernel - unless you want to - with most Distros, It especially seems odd that you would have to in Mandrake/iva
which version were you running?

Don't give up on Linux, just realise it is an alternative not a replacement. It takes time to learn, and the 'user-friendliness' is improving. You have to try a selection of Distros to find one that is best suited to you, similar I suppose to the way you may choose between XP Home, Pro etc. It takes a bit of work, but it doesn't take long to pick it up, and I found that it also greatly improves what you are able to do with Windows in terms of your understanding of how things work.

Ive just had a look at the link you posted, does look intimidating but its simple enough. Why not try again and then post any error messages you get?

Well I am presently dual booting Mandriva Linux 2006 with Windows XP (that's how Im still able to use the Internet). I notice you posted a link to http://unixhead.org/docs/conexant/linux ... howto.html to another person using a Conexant AccessRunner modem, which seems a >little< easier to follow. The thing is I don't beleive I need to touch the kernel as the PCI modem does get recognised (as seen in Harddrake), but no net device is shown when I try to set up a Network. I go to configure my computer then network and get a list, LAN connection etc. But no net device is there which is confusing. Surely the kernel must support my modem and PPPoA, I *think* I just need a driver.

I really need step by step instructions as Im very new to Linux (though not computers).

what happens under windows is I can hear a clicking noise from the modem which means ADSL is connecting, but this doesn't happen with Linux so Im assuming it is because there is no driver.

It's really annoying that the DynaMiTe (that's not me typing l33t that's what its called) USB modem gets recognised as a scanner. When I go through hardware config I just get asked if I want to set up a scanner Even though the description says USB modem

If you find you need help start a new thread with a relevant title and tap some of the raw knowledge that exists on these forums I'd forgotten about that link, would have posted it for you otherwise. It shouldn't be too big an issue to get the internal one going, I don't think you will need to touch the kernel as you are using Mandriva and they seem to ship with INCLUDE_KITCHEN_SINK=y compiled in.